DELF A1 writing: a form to fill in, a message of 40 words
DELF A1 production écrite is two exercises inside a single thirty-minute paper. First you fill in a form with personal details. Then you write a short message of 40 words or more: a postcard, an email, a note. The form is marked field by field, the message on a grid of five criteria. This page explains both exercises, the length rule that can wipe out the message, and a model postcard annotated line by line.
Updated 10 October 2026
Two exercises in thirty minutes
| Task | Minimum length | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form filling | No word minimum | 10 | |
| Short correspondence | 40 words | 15 | |
| Total | 30 min | 25 |
Source · the official DELF A1 tout public format.
Personal details first, then a short message
The first exercise hands you a form with blank fields: surname, first name, date of birth, address, nationality, occupation and others of that kind. Most fields take one word, a date or a number. None asks for a sentence, which is why the exercise has no word minimum. It checks that you can read a label in French and put the right answer under it.
The second exercise is a short piece of correspondence: a postcard, an email, a message or a short letter. The instruction line gives you a situation, a reader and a list of things to say. In our sample paper you are on holiday in France and you write to a friend called Claire. You say where you are, what you do and what you like, then you invite her.
The two exercises do not call on the same skill. The form deals in single words and in the spelling of your own details. The message shows whether you can put short sentences together for a real reader. The grid’s A1 descriptor for réalisation de la tâche asks for short, simple sentences that fit the task.
The grid for the message: five criteria of three points
| Criterion | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Réalisation de la tâcheTask fulfilment | 3 |
| Cohérence et cohésionCoherence and cohesion | 3 |
| Adéquation sociolinguistiqueSociolinguistic appropriateness | 3 |
| Lexique (y compris orthographe lexicale)Vocabulary (including lexical spelling) | 3 |
| MorphosyntaxeMorphosyntax (grammar) | 3 |
| Total | 15 |
The other exercise is not marked on this grid. It is worth 10 points, which is why the grid stops at 15.
Every criterion is scored from 0 to 3, in steps of 0.5.
The official tick values are 0, 0.5, 2, and 3. The values in between are our own interpolations, not official rungs.
Under half the required length, at 19 words or fewer, every criterion scores 0.
Source · the current harmonised DELF A1 marking grid.
Ten points for the form, and the length rule for the message
In the official sample paper the form has about ten fields, and each correct one earns a point. Phonetic spelling is accepted there.
The message carries the rule that costs the most. At nineteen words or fewer, under half the length asked for, all five criteria score zero. That zero is not the score of the paper, because the form still counts. A form with every field right is worth ten points by itself, which is above the 5/25 floor.
Between that threshold and 40 words, our grader charges the shortfall to réalisation de la tâche only. Our grader does not tally surface errors either: a missing elision or a wrong agreement costs nothing while the message is understood. Off-topic caps, however, are printed on the official grid. Off the theme, the top rung closes on réalisation de la tâche and on lexique. In the wrong kind of text, réalisation de la tâche and cohérence et cohésion stay below the A1 rung.
A model postcard from Nice, annotated line by line
The instruction line
Vous êtes en vacances en France. Vous écrivez une carte postale à votre amie française Claire : vous dites où vous êtes, ce que vous faites et ce que vous aimez. Vous l’invitez à venir avec vous l’année prochaine. (40 mots minimum)
Model answer
Chère Claire,
opening formula suited to a friend
Je suis en vacances à Nice, au bord de la mer. Il fait très beau et chaud.
where I am: place + weather in simple sentences
Le matin, je vais à la plage et je nage. L’après-midi, je visite la vieille ville avec ma sœur.
what I do: two activities linked in a chronological order
J’aime beaucoup les glaces italiennes et le marché aux fleurs. C’est magnifique !
what I like: tastes expressed with “j’aime beaucoup”
Tu viens avec moi l’année prochaine ? Grosses bises, Sofia
invitation + friendly closing formula
Marks awarded
- Task fulfilment3 / 3
- Coherence and cohesion3 / 3
- Sociolinguistic appropriateness3 / 3
- Vocabulary (including lexical spelling)3 / 3
- Morphosyntax (grammar)2.5 / 3
- Total14.5 / 15
The marks above are our own annotated grid. Our AI grader, run on the same text, returned 15 out of 15. Neither is an examiner result.
Task and model answer from our A1 sample paper. Both were written for this site.
The postcard does the four things the task asks, in the order the task lists them. Chère Claire sets a register suited to a friend, and the card stays in tu to the end. One line puts two activities in the order of the day, le matin then l’après-midi. Then come the likes, the invitation as a plain question, and Grosses bises to close. The card clears the minimum with room to spare.
Do not read either total as an examiner’s mark. Our annotated grid holds back half a point on morphosyntaxe. The sentences are correct, but all of them are safe and simple, and the A1+ descriptor also wants an attempt at more complex structures. Our AI grader, run on the same text, held nothing back. The full sample paper and its answer key add a reading exercise and a vocabulary exercise on forms.
Practising the form and the message together
Practise the two exercises in one sitting, because the exam gives you one clock for both. The form has a visible end: its last field. The message has none, and it will spill over unless you stop it.
Practise the A1 writing paper against the clock, then go through the feedback line by line. The score of the message comes from an AI grader that applies the official grid. It is an estimate: no examiner gave it. Use it to find which of the five criteria is holding you back, then rewrite the same message once.
- 1Start with the form and leave no field blank: an empty line can only lose its point.
- 2In the instruction line of the message, underline the reader and each thing you are asked to say.
- 3Open and close the way your reader expects: a first name and tu for a friend, Bonjour Madame and vous for a stranger.
- 4Write one short sentence per point, then join two of them with et, mais or parce que.
- 5Count your words before you hand in, and aim a little above 40. When the routine holds, sit a full A1 mock to see this paper beside the other three.
Official timing
- PE-Ex1 · Form filling10 points
- PE-Ex2 · Short correspondence15 points
- Total30 min
Source · the official DELF A1 tout public format.
A workable split
- PE-Ex110 min
- PE-Ex215 min
- Checking your answers5 min
A workable split. This is our arithmetic, not an official figure.
Free lesson: the two writing exercises, step by step
Free lesson · study guide
The writing paper game plan
Thirty minutes, two tasks, 25 points. What the form asks, what the 40-word message asks, and how to share the clock between them.
Form and message: the questions candidates ask
How many words does the A1 message need?+
The instruction line of the message asks for 40 words at least. The form has no word minimum: its fields mostly take a single word, a date or a number. Write a few words more than the minimum, in case you counted wrong.
What happens if my message is too short?+
It depends on how many words are missing. At nineteen words or fewer, every criterion of the message scores zero. The form still counts, so the paper is not lost for that reason alone. Between that threshold and 40 words, our grader lowers réalisation de la tâche only.
Does spelling count in A1 writing?+
Yes, but gently. The grid has no line set aside for spelling: lexical spelling is read inside lexique. The A1 descriptor expects correct spelling on a limited number of elementary words, with the other words written phonetically. On the form, phonetic spelling is accepted in the official sample paper.
What is in the form of exercise 1?+
Fields about a person: who they are, where they live, what they do. Our sample paper drills the commonest labels: prénom, date de naissance, adresse, nationalité, profession. The classic trap is to answer a different label, for example a country where a nationality is asked.
Can I write more than 40 words?+
Yes. Forty is a minimum, not a range, and the instruction line of our sample states no maximum. Length alone earns nothing, though, and every extra sentence is one more to check. If you plan to move up a level afterwards, note that A2 writing asks for two longer texts.
Keep reading
The other A1 pages
Ready to find your A1 level?
Take a full mock or practice one section at a time. See your predicted score before exam day.